Pop singer Nana Kitade is scheduled to appear as a special guest at the 8th Japan Expo in Paris, France on July 6-8. She will give a live performance and will also serve as a fashion show model, dressed in her characteristic Gothic Lolita style.

Actress Rina Uchiyama will appear in her first stage production next year. She has been chosen to play the role of Cordelia in Shakespeare's "King Lear," directed by the well-known Yukio Ninagawa.

Mikijiro Hira will play the lead role of King Lear. Other cast members include Maho Toyota and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi.

Performances begin in January in Saitama. Rehearsals are scheduled to start in December.

Singer-songwriter Ayaka has taken a big step towards building a worldwide fan base. The music video for her new single, "Jewelry day" (in stores July 4), has just been released as a world premiere through the iTunes Store. The video is being distributed in 10 countries, including the U.S., England, France, and Germany. This is a first for a Japanese artist.

The 26th Best Father Yellow Ribbon Awards (sponsored by Japan Men's Fashion Unity and others) were presented on Tuesday.

In the entertainment category, actor Saburo Tokito received the award. Although his role in the currently-running drama series "Hanayome to Papa" might make him seem like an annoying parent, his real-life experience is different. Tokito is actually the father of three children, and in 1999 he took a four-year break from work so that he could move to New Zealand and properly take care of his children.

Other award winners were Yokohama mayor Hiroshi Nakada (politics), Namco Bandai Holdings president Takeo Takasu (business), talento and gymnastics instructor Hiromichi Sato (science & culture), and Yoshiro Yokomine, the father of pro golfer Sakura Yokomine (sports).

On Tuesday, it was announced that the TV Asahi drama series "Sushi Ouji!" will be turned into a film, even though the show will not begin airing until next month.

The action comedy series stars Koichi Domoto as a martial artist training in the art of sushi. KAT-TUN's Yuichi Nakamaru plays his partner, Taro. Both of them will reprise their roles for the movie version.

Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi is in charge of both the television series and the film. Warner Bros. will be in charge of the movie's distribution, with a target release date during Golden Week of 2008. Filming has already wrapped up for the drama, and principal photography for the movie is scheduled to begin in the next few days. The story will be set overseas (unlike the television version), but it is not clear whether it will be shot on location.

This is Domoto's first time starring alone in a movie, and it is his first film appearance since "Ienaki Ko" in 1994.

On Tuesday, the final round of a-motion '07 was held. The audition, sponsored by avex and USEN, aims to find the next generation of music artists, and has been running since 2005.

This year, approximately 10,000 people entered the audition, and 18 finalists competed in the last round. The eventual Grand Prix winner was 13-year-old Anna Ishihara, a Kyoto resident who is in her 7th year at an international school.

It was discovered on Tuesday that actress Ryoko Hirosue has filed a defamation suit against Josei Seven publisher Shogakukan, seeking a published apology and approximately 23 million yen in damages.

The March 22 issue of weekly tabloid Josei Seven contained an article claiming to have spotted Hirosue riding on the back of a motorcycle, driven by actor Ken Kaneko. Kaneko is said to be Hirosue's former boyfriend, and the article suggested that she was cheating on her husband, Takahiro Okazawa. (It has also been rumored since November that Hirosue is filing for divorce.)

Hirosue's side claims that the story of her "bike date" is untrue, and that it damaged her reputation as both an actress and mother.

It appears Shogakukan is willing to go to court, as oral proceedings began on Tuesday.

The theater idol group AKB48 is looking to add 18 members, in the form of trainees. The new additions will be given singing and dancing lessons, with the goal of having them participate in AKB48's stage performances. They also have the possibility of being promoted to the main group when vacancies open.

Approximately 10,000 hopefuls have applied, ranging in age from grade school to college.

Mangaka Arina Tanemura, known for several shojo titles such as "Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne" and "Full Moon wo Sagashite," has been revealed as a guest at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego, which is taking place July 26-29.

Popular actor Satoshi Tsumabuki is appearing in a new commercial for the Subaru Impreza. Although Tsumabuki has appeared in many commercials, this is his first time promoting an automobile.

The ad, which begins airing on the 6th, is directed by well-known filmmaker Isshin Inudo.

TV Asahi's detective drama special, "Sakurasho no Onnatachi," is being turned into a full series. The special aired last September in the network's "Doyo Wide Gekijo" time slot, and now the series will air at 9:00pm on Wednesdays, starting sometime in July.

Several cast members of the original special are returning, including lead actress Reiko Takashima. The series still revolves around the same team of female detectives, though the characters have been renamed. Maho Toyota, Tamao Nakamura, and Azusa Mano are among the returning cast, while actress Emi Hashino is a new addition.

Shigeaki Kato of NEWS will appear in this summer's drama series, "Papa to Musume no Nanokakan," which stars Hiroshi Tachi and Yui Aragaki. The series is a comedy in which an accident results in a father (Tachi) and his high school daughter Koume (Aragaki) switching bodies.

Kato will play the role of Kenta Osugi, an older student that Koume has fallen for. He's the ace of the soccer team, but he is unfortunately shy and a poor talker, which makes him unable to express to Koume that he likes her.

Kato's last appearance in a drama was TBS's one-shot "An Automaton in Long Sleep" last September. The new series will also air on TBS, at 9:00pm on Sundays, starting on July 1.